Roddick talks with super agent Max Eisenbud on Sharapova, Li Na and Raducanu + Wertheim GOAT debate
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- čas přidán 11. 09. 2024
- In this episode of 'Served with Andy Roddick,' we are joined by Max Eisenbud, the SVP and Head of Tennis Clients at IMG Tennis. He shares his insights on signing a then 11-year-old Maria Sharapova and the crucial role her father played in her career. Max discusses the influence of Tiger Woods' career on his strategy for brand partnerships, particularly for Maria Sharapova and his other clients. He also reveals the story behind signing Chinese tennis star Li Na, making her the first athlete to work with Nike in a way no one else had before. The conversation then turns to Emma Raducanu's meteoric rise and the industry's reaction to her US Open victory and current stardom. Additionally, Andy and Jon Wertheim explore the 'GOAT' debate, with a special focus on Novak Djokovic's legacy in tennis history.
0:38 - Served Supporter Club
2:28 - Racket Round Up Brought to you by...
6:56 - Max Eisenbud Super Agent Joins
7:52 - Max on how he became an Agent
10:06 - Max on Maria Sharapova
20:21 - Max on Sharapova's first Slam
29:15 - Max on Deals and Brand Partnerships
35:30 - Max on Li Na
52:19 - Max on Emma Raducanu's Phenomenal Rise
1:11:02 - Welcome Jon Wertheim
1:13:23 - Andy and Jon on GOAT status
1:31:36 - Feedback and Farewell
"You made Sharapova rich. I want to sign with you. "
-- Li Na
This is now one of my favorite quotes of all time. 😂
Andy just nerding out on Djokovic's technical game is why I'm gonna be tuning in every week.
Andy, the explanation you did on Novak's game and that insight on game strategy was literally awesome. It would be great to hear more of that in the future. Great show ! Have been listening since the very beginning and look forward to the next shows.
Hi Roddick! My name is Sergio and I am Brazilian. Thank you very much for the technical comments regarding Joao Fonseca and for your enthusiasm and kindness towards Gustavo Kuerten and the Brazilian tennis fans! Many thanks for that!
Continue to LOVE this podcast. FASCINATING conversation with Max Eisenbud, again going behind the scenes with discussions tennis fans like myself were always curious about. Andy as always is very entertaining. This pod has become a go to watch/listen every week. Great job Andy, Jon and Producer Mike!!
Glad you enjoy it!
amazing episode indeed!!!!
Enjoyed the Max interview. Very insightful about what IMG does. I loved the comment about being kind to Emma... She will figure it out and so will Carlos with his serve, who has won 2 grand slams (12 titles) by age 20. These young players are the future. No need to add to the harshness and in many cases downright hatred they receive on "unsocial" media.
Andy, this has been your best episode yet! Will be hard to top this! Every tennis fan should watch this. Heck, this deserves a spot in the Netflix series (Breakpoint) real Jerry Maguire story here! LOVE IT!!!
Wow, thanks!
Awesome interview with Max. Thanks to Max for agreeing to talk.😎
I love the show. This episode is everything a tennis nerd could ask for. Andy and Jon mesh really well in this format!
Loved the Djoko game analysis!
You're the JJ Redick of tennis podcasts. I love the content and would be ecstatic to see more match analysis videos, discussing the details that fans don't typically pick up from a match.
You're doing incredible work for the tennis world. This interview with Max was amazing.
Absolutely fascinating guest and conversation. Thx so much Andy for the deep dive on how the machinery works. Great job Max, you’re a legend. 🌟
I loved this interview. Fascinating. A side of the tennis world we don't hear about that much.
I am surprised, that the channel has only 6k subscribers so far (especially if you compare it to some other channels with less expertise in their content). I am confident that it will become the most valued tennis podcast on YT if posted consistently.
Thanks so much! 🙌🏼
We don’t get Tennis Channel in Canada. I’m glad this Podcast will still be available on You Tube!!💯🎾
T2 is available on all Samsung phones, tablets and TVs. Also carried on the Roku channel.
Great insights! Li Na made a smart move too for staying with Nike, even if they were paying her 🥜 at first
Thanks for giving us time stamps & topics! Love the candor of discussions in this podcast! We wouldn’t get the same level of honesty in “traditional” media broadcasts 👍
You're crushing it Andy. Keep the videos coming, soon these are going to be getting 100k+ views in a week
I think Andy and John compliment each other-personality and expertise. Muy enjoyable.
Sports and politics have and will always intersect.
Don't ever change! Awesome again.
Great episode!!! Super interesting stories from Max Euisenbud, some inside stories of tennis that I’ve never heard anywhere else.
Fascinating to hear about Max's stories, especially about Li Na.
And the nerding out on Djokovic's game, that was amazing too!
Enjoyed the Max discussion and the behind the scenes aspect of professional tennis. It makes you appreciate the road to the top if you can get there. I would like to know more about the tour outside of the top 100 and what it us like for those players.
Wonderful episode, loved how yall talked in great detail about how difficult Novak makes it against other players. Really appreciated Andy's insight, as he mentioned things that I wouldn't have noticed, but Nole's tactical brain and prowess at finding what hurts the other player was on full display and very easy to see in the build up to Federer's last match at the Laver cup, when coaching Murray. Murray with Fed coaching him was one, but as soon as Nole coached him, he was another and I have no dobuts he won that set in large part thanks to Nole's golden nuggets of wisdom.
I'll be more a fan of Fed, Roddick and DelPo, but having my personal favorites doesn't make me blind to the reality that one guy is better than my favorites. Not sure why people have such a hard time separating this.
am so inspired by Li Na’s story. Great interview Andy!
So glad you enjoyed!
Max is fascinating. So insightful and intelligent. Loved stories of Maria's dad! He sounds like he knows how to enjoy life. Li Na's financial struggles. Hope Raducanu makes a comeback. Max used to work w Tiger's agent?! Keep up the great work Max. Andy, thanks for this detailed, unique show. It's like Tennis's "Meet The Press."
Great convo, keep them coming Andy, thank you! This channel is going to blow up.
The entire Li Na segment blew me away and especially the question at 51:15 gave me chills. How once decision can change so many people's lives. The ripple effect is crazy!
Cannot imagine the Beijing 2008 olympics not happening and Li Na retiring in an alternate reality.
Maria's segment was great too! So much character! Max seems like a great guy! And I really hope Emma does well again!
p.s: Fantastic Podcast Andy. Keep going! So much insights! Also, we need chapters for these segments :)
Amazing to hear these things straight from the man
THIS WAS AMAZING🤯🤩🤩🤩🤩
Watch a short clip on other platforms about Max talking about Li Na, so come here to listen to the whole story. I’ve been watching Li Na on the news, knowing she’s our tennis hero, but I might be too young to know Li Na had gone through such a hard time. Thank God she met Max, kept playing on the court, and got what she deserved. She’s incredible, I love her❤
Great convo, super interesting Maria insight... But man, the definitive. AMEN on the goat debate and Andy geeking out about gamestyles and Novak 👌👌👌
I remember like if it was yesterday how after her loss to Emma at the Us Open, Sakkari during the after match press conference sort of predicted the future for Raducanu telling how, after you have become an established player, everyone is after you, they want your scalp on court, off court, now everyone knows you, now all of sudden they know your game. Being unknown and "reckless" on court was such an advantage. Of course she had the form of her life during that summer but she also quit Wimbledon due to that stress related respiratory problem. Fascinating
Andy should take over MacEnroes job as commentator.About time.
So interesting ! Amazing to have such insight !
This interview with the Agent! Pure genius. I have forwarded the video and podcast to so many tennis friends. Delicious.
Brilliant podcast . 🎾👊
andy roddick's eloquent way of describing novak's goat status is beautiful
In the Chinese system, the state pays for the most costs for the development of an athlete since childhood. The athlete earns a salary from the state and the state expects to get the majority of the prize money. I guess now some more wealthy parents pay for their kid's development like those in the West, e.g., Junchen Shang trains in Florida. He is not obliged to give prize money back to the state.
My gosh. This is an amazing episode. I hope you get Maria on the pod in the near future!
Interview with Max was truly awesome ! Loved hearing real behind the scenes stuff !
My new favorite podcast! Fun, informative, and deep! Great job, Andy and team and guests, thank you so much for this!
Andy, long term fan, I moved to Austin for school because of you!
Such an intersting poadcast, and the goat debate was gold!😊
Fascinating podcast. Thanks Andy.
Super fascinating stories about Li Na. Yao Ming was huge at the time too. Must have been a lot of first time deals that happened in that era.
As a super tennis fan this is so interesting, thanks Andy legend
Absolutely loved the conversation with Max. Insightful, fun and endearing. Keep it up!
I’m still wondering when anyone in tennis is going to ask themselves whether maybe Djokovic didn’t take the vaccine because he’s figured out a few things about health and longevity that the others haven’t. 🤔
Um no. Your comment was wrong on so many levels.
@@jonwz 🤣🤡🌎🎪
Hell no! When did he or anyone in tennis become medical professionals? When did he figure out the key to longevity? Millions died because of Covid. The vaccine saved millions of lives. We have to stop judging things by our selfish little bubbles and that includes Novak.
Copy-paste celebrities/athlets moves concerning health issues does not seem smart to me.
They do what they think is best for them according to their lifestyle.
I wouldn't take covid vaccine if Djoković(or Federer or Messi or LeBron) took it.
I did not take vaccine because I think it is untested and risky for my health, more than it is beneficial.
Djoković does not consume gluten.
Should I stop consume gluten?
Ofc not.
He is pro athlete having serious body efforts in need to take care of his diet.
I am not.
@@brendajohnson5525 Oy...🤦♀
This is the best episode so far, hand down. Fight me!
More nerding out on stuff like Novak's game please!! That and the behind the scenes stuff is so interesting as a tennis fan.
Djokovic’s vax stance and his stand against the insane majors trying to keep him out was one his best moments, not his worst. This is why we should get MORE Andy and less Wertheim on this pod. Don’t let the stupid journalists take over here, Andy.
Absolute gem of a anything tennis. Thank you so much for doing this!
Another amazing episode, Andy! Enjoyed hearing all the stories from Max.
Good podcast. The part about Li Na was very interesting, never knew all that about the Chinese tennis federation or that she was at the brink of quitting in 2008. Raducanu's situation is definitely unique, and doesn't help that she's British, their media, rabid fans and haters alike are crazy and give her little room to breath. But perhaps Eisenbud needs to be more proactive in helping Emma settle on a longer term coach and a top physio. Her dad is mismanaging that side of her tennis badly. Would love to see her sign up David Witt. Also would've been nice to know what her strategy is going forward, which tournaments she'll play, and why not go down to 125K like so many have done coming back from long injury layoff or at least play qualies at 500s and 1000s, seems this supposed "great reset" that lowers expectations is the perfect opportunity for her to get more match play through qualies.
As a Chinese, we know she was portrayed as a "problem" of CTA. We've heard a lot of "bad" things about her when we were kids. We are sooooo happy when she's bounced back. She deserves it.
GREAT interview. Learned so much from Max. What a guy!
Better every week! Great stuff with Max.
the Li Na section was fascinating
Max is quite clearly a phenomenal agent, who has been able to monetise his clients' successes in spectacular ways. He is, however, quite tough to listen to as uses the word "like" almost as much as Kyrgios while also constantly dropping in "erm", "and so", etc. which was surprising to me, as spoken language would be one of his primary tools to close deals. Andy's vocabulary range is an order of magnitude greater and he speaks extremely smoothly, so I look forward to a burgeoning gig as a podcaster :)
ANDY, J'ADORE, AS ALWAYS!
Max,agent make me rich.Thanks a lot.😂
This episode is awesome
Wow this was a super interesting interview!! I hope the move to TC doesn’t change the candid honesty of your guests 😂.
The contrast you drew between halep and sharapova’s handling of the positive tests was important. Another important contrast is the difference in the severity of the substances themselves. Meldonium vs Roxadustat is kind of like ginkgo biloba vs adderall.
Great job on pulling back the curtain Max and Andy!
I just watched Maria on the other A-rod's podcast and she said she emailed Yuri after the Aussie Open that it was time for her to be on her own but the story about the toast is a nice insight to that time period. They were obviously a very close knit family
Recently Tiafoe said that he thinks tennis is the most difficult sport in the world 1:24:29 this part could be a strong argument in that case ;)
Andy you should interview Maria or Yuri that would be an interesting conversation.
Great interview with Max.
I cried I didn’t know Sharapova didn’t have her dad in the stands after her third grand slam win I don’t care what anyone says that had to be hard for her not having him out there ever 😢
Andy, Lisa F. Love this -- your insight is awesome!! Where's the link to the Served Supporter's Club?
I'm really bullish on your podcast, but one tip I have is to explain who people like Yuri are for the audience. Obviously, it becomes clear throughout the podcast he's Maria's dad, but it would still help to give context.
wow, hearing about Yuri is so fascinating! what are these patches they keep talking about with Nike? @44:40
In the contract, Nike allowed her to wear patches from other sponsors on their kits. What he was talking about 250-300k going up to 2.5 mil is how much these other sponsors were willing to pay per tournament.
Another good one. Thanks
Great one !!
One tip: Arthur Fils is pronounced like "geese" with an F instead of the G.
This is great. Watching tennis back in the day it was easy to view Yuri as another crazy tennis dad. So far from truth. And him getting 10000 and disappearing after first GS is real funny story/ while in the backdrop you know that he got out of picture straight after he felt he couldn't give more....
Has Raducanu even won 3 straight matches in a row since September 2021?
Hi Andy! Would like to request that you pls try to get the players’s names pronounced as close to the correct way as possible. It’s ok when your american accent gets in the way but please do make an effort. Pay-yo-li-ni is just too much!
Can someone explain to me what’s a patch, and how is it worth money? Thanks
i've been watching this on the road- actually what time do you release these on tuesdays? I'm time-zone aware.
5am ET
i saw the gilbert edited version but is it really a new episode? now at almost 7am ET :(@@ServedPodcast
i love this show!
i saw him at the 2013 miami open yuri
Why would you wish djokovic got vaccinated? 😂
No mention of Israel, no mention of the dodgy Agostinelli promotion, no mention of serviceman Aaron Bushnell who achieved more in 30 seconds than Max Has ever achieved for humanity is his life
Get a life.
He's not wrong. Max has got away lightly. This is no longer the 1970s. Raducanu continues to confuse. One second she's acting sassy and running away with Zionists telling coaches she knows more about tennis than they do, then she disappears for months with old duffers from the LTA struggling with coaches who haven't even earnt their licence. All over the place and Max keeps blaming the father. I think he's dishonest like all these politicians. No smoke without fire as they say.
Sports is entertainment, not math, we watch because we want emotions, where context and aesthetics matter.
Hey Max, what made you take Alex Eala under your wings and why do you think she is taking a while to break through?
Sorry but Wertheim is not a tennis fans commentator. Most of what he says is clichés and tidbits or catchy headlines.
Having said that he seems like a really nice guy and I agree with his take on the attempted Saudi takeover.
Hi Andy, can you get Roger on the show?
cut the interview based on topics so ppl can just watch what they want to watch.. like i wanna watch about sharapova then i dont need skip
Yes.
Fonseca is managed by Federer, sponsored by On and a junior Grand Slam champion, absolutely no chance he was ever going to college!
The ONLY real argument against Djokovic is age and generation - the resume point speaks for itself.
To put it in perspective, Federer was the age Andy was when he retired (in 2012) the season Djokovic truly broke out and become the monster he is (in 2011, his age 24 season and Federer’s age 30 season). Prior to that, he’d won one slam.
Now, Devil’s advocate: put an equivalent to 24 year old Djokovic on the tour in 2017. How does 2017 to now Djokovic fare? That’s effectively what Federer faced, and he had a 25 year old Nadal and 24 year old Murray to contend with at the same time.
As an aside, one of the real shames of the sport over the past decade is that Murray had issues going into 2017 as world number 1. What could he have done that season following the strides he made in late 2016? Would Federer have even reached 20 slams if that’d happened?
“We went to Mallorca” ?? This dude is so out of touch
No1e the best athlete of all time 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸
Boiler up Max!!! :))
You mentioned goat numbers but forgot one: $$$$
I do agree that Novak is the goat of tennis but I do not think that he is the best returner of all time. I still think that Andre is the best returner of all time. Andre played in an era where the courts were much faster. All the courts were slowed down around 2000 which made it much easier for the returners. Andre also played in an era with some of the best servers of all time like Pete, Goran, and Boris just to name a few. I know this is not going to be popular but this is my opinion.
Tennis the most difficult or hardest sport?
Love the pod and the technical breakdowns! On the GOAT stuff though, Andy keeps saying "math is objective", which is a little lazy to me.
No shit everyone can see that 24 > 22, obviously Novak has won the most titles. But I think the debate centres around who was actually the best player?
With aggregate totals settled I wish someone would actually delve into the numbers, Federer's early dominance but being older, Nadal's excellence on clay but also breaking through on the other two's turf, Djokovic's late career longevity.
Instead all we get is "numbers are numbers" but "Roger's game is pretty" and "people don't like Serbia". It's a little superficial, give us more! 😂
Roger and Rafa lived in the top three close to all of Novak's career until 2020. Novak is the best player. What are you not understanding? So RF was back at #1 in 2017 or 2018, and yet he wasn't good anymore because he was older. It's the twisted logic of the truly desperate. And that's why RF turned 27 and magically couldn't win three a year anymore - he clearly hit the wall. Give me a break.